Weather & Climate

Every day, billions of people all over the world make plans according to the weather'what to wear, when to hold activities outside, whether to prepare for dangerous storms. The swirling warm and cold air masses in Earth's atmosphere generate as many as sixteen million thunderstorms around the world each year, yet weather patterns also leave some areas with little or no precipitation. While we seem to have no control over weather, evidence of dramatic changes to our planet'such as the greenhouse effect and global warming'reminds us of the impact human activity has on Earth's climate. Well-known science writers Alvin and Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn explore what we mean when we talk about weather and climate and what a critical role they play in the survival of all living things.